Alexander m



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER M. COCHRAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

WINDOW-BLIND.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER M. COCH- RAN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I/Vindow Blinds; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of an iron blind with my improvements. Fig. 2 is an inside front view of the same, with the frame cut away in thev line of Fig. 1 to expose the tenons of the slats and the boxes which incase them. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several iigures.

The main object of this invention is the construction of iron blinds with movable slats like those of the blinds in common use, which when the slats are closed shall be fire proof, and which can be readily repaired when broken or injured. The several features of the invention are also applicable to wooden blinds affording great facilities for the repair thereof.

The invent-ion consists firstly in a novel Inode of fitting and securing the slats in the frame; secondly in a novel mode of eecting the connection between the slats and the rods; and thirdly in a novel mode of locking the slats when closed, and securing them in an open position or condition.

To enable others to construct my invention I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A, B, C, is the frame of the iron blind which may be variously constructed of T iron, angle iron or plate iron, or these combined, but the transverse section of the upright side pieces should be preferably of the form shown in FigfB, and that of the transverse pieces B, B, O, of the form shown in Fig. 1 presenting flat surfaces on the outside of the blind.

a, a, are upright irons riveted or otherwise secured to the inside of the frame as close as possible to the front thereof to contain the mortises for the slats D, D. These irons, a, a, may be of angle iron as shown in Fig. 3 in section or of such other form as may be necessary to combine with the upright sides of the frame to form boxes of the character shown in that figure so as 16,527, dated February 3, 1857.

to give strength to themselves and to the frame. On one side of the blind the mortises consist simply of circular holes of proper size to receive the tenons c, c, at one end of the slats, but on the other side the mortises consist of oblique slots as shown at b, b, Figs. 1 and 2 into which the tenons c, c, at the other end of the slats drop, and the bottoms of which slots form the bearings in which the tenons 0, c', work. By this arrangement of the oblique slotted mortises facility is afforded for the removal of the whole of the slats of a panel of the blind while connected with their rod which is done by raising the teno'ns c, c, on the one end of the said slotted mortises o, Z), and then drawing the tenons o, c, at the other end out of the circular mortises. The tenons c, c, of the whole of the slats are secured in the mortises Z), b, until it is desired to remove the slats, by means of a long rod CZ, which passes through a hole in the top of the blind frame and down t-he inside of the angle iron or boX a, behind the tenons c', c', and enters ahole in the bottom of the frame. The head of this rod when the blind is closed is covered by t-he window cap and consequently cannot be removed by burglars, but when the blind is open the said rod can easily be removed to liberate the tenons o, c, by drawing it upward. The tenons are all close to the outer edges of the slats, by this means the slats when closed are allowed to come close up behind the ianches e, e, see Fig. 3, that form the exterior face of the frame, and the blind is thus made to present a nearly flush appearance when the slats are closed and the ends of the slats are covered up.

The most convenient way of constructing the iron slats is to make them of light sheet iron and to insert a wire in the front edge in the ordinary manner of wiring the edges of sheet metal articles leaving the ends of the wire projecting far enough from the ends of the sheet metal to form the tenons.

E, E, are the rods connecting the slats, formed each of a piece of metal tubing with transverse slits s, s, see Fig. 1, cut on one side to receive ears f, f, which are left or formed on the inner edges of the slats, said ears having holes in them to receive a stout wire g, which is dropped into each tubular rod through the hole of the ears belonging to the slats of a single panel of the blind.

This simple method of connecting the slats' and rods when employed in combination with the slotted mortises b, enables any broken or damaged slat to be readily taken out of the blind to be repaired and replaced, or exchanged for a new one.

F, F, are ball shaped bars of light rod iron or stout wire having their ends itted to turn in suitable bearings in the side pieces A, A, of the frame of the blind, one opposite or nearly so to the middle of each panel, and 7L, z', are notches or slits cut in the backs of the rods E, E; the upper notches 7L, being so placed that the bails on being turned upward when the slats are closed may fall into the said notches and thus secure the slats, in that condition as shown in the lower panel of the blind in Fig. l, and the lower notches z', z', being so placed that the bails on being turned downward when the slats are open may fall into the said notches, and then secure the slats in that condition as shown in the upper frame of the blind in Fig. l. A greater number of notches of similar character to 71 i, may be provided in the rods to enable the slots to be held at Various degrees of opening. j, j, are small sliding bolts fitted to the backs of the rods to lock the bails more securely in the notches h, 71 when the slats are closed and thus render the blind in a certain degree burglar proof.

Vhen these improvements are applied to a Wooden blind the oblique slotted mortises b, Z), may be cut in the stile or in a strip secured to the interior of the stile; the ears f, j, may be made of metal and nailed or screwed to the slats, and the tubular metal rods E, and wires g, will be used as in the iron blind. The other parts may be constructed in the same manner as those of ordinary wooden blinds.

What l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. The fitting of the tenons in one side of the blind to oblique slotted mortises, b, b, and securing them all in place by a long rod or wire, (Z, substantially as and Jfor the purpose herein described.

2. Effecting the connection between the slats, D, D, and rods, E, E, by making the rods of metal tubing, with slits, s, s, providing ears, f, f, to enter the said slits, s, s, and passing a wire, g, thro-ugh the tubular rods and the ears, f, f, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The conining of the slats in a closed or open condition by means of bail-shaped bars, F, F, applied and operating as described, in combination with notches, h, t', in the backs of the rods, E, E, as herein set forth.

A. M. COCHRAN. llfitnesses J. F. BUCKLEY, S. J. COHEN. 

